Thursday, February 16, 2006

Black-Eyed Peas & Cornbread

I was so happy to discover frozen black-eyed peas at a local grocery store. They cook up much faster than dried: I put a bag of frozen black-eyes into 4 cups boiling water and simmered for 10 minutes, then added chopped carrots, garlic, herbs & spices and cooked for another 10 minutes or so until the carrots were barely tender. I packed them in a hot thermos alongside a fresh baked mini-loaf of wholegrain cornbread. For fruit and a treat, some "lite" mixed fruit canned in fruit juice.Verdict: Hey, it turns out cornbread doesn't have "crust"! He ate the entire mini-loaf and all but a couple bites of the peas. The only thing he rejected was the canned grapes in the fruit mix. Last time he loved the grapes and refused to touch the peaches, so you just never know! 4 stars.

83 comments:

Jane M
said...

ohh yummmm!!!! That is like my favorite legume. Got me craving black eyed peas now. I use to have his aversion to crusts when I was a kid too. Now it's my favorite part of the bread or pizza or anything else.....

i dont blame shmoo for not eating the grapes..i think they do tend to get soggy in syrup..i do love canned peaches though..mmm..and that black-eyed peas recipe better be the in the cookbook! have a great weekend -AP Environmental Girl

This looks like a wonderful lunch. NO CRUSTS! Can't beat that! I like the idea of hot beans and veggies in the thermos. I've never been a fan of canned fruits, do you ever give him dehydrated? ~Leslie~

sounds great... is the cornbread muffin recipe going to be in your cook book or can you share it? i'm trying to find a vegan recipe my family will love. no luck yet. i wait anxiously everyday to see what's for lunch. thanks for the inspiration!

Two questions -- 1) What seasonings did you use for the black-eyed peas and 2) What do you use in place of dairy in your corn bread? I'm not vegan but I keep kosher and am looking for a pareve corn bread recipe to serve with chili.

Hi, Leslie! Yes, we always have a huge selection of dried fruits like organic raisins, apricots, etc. in the house for snacks and adding to cereals and baked goods. I guess I haven't put them in the lunch box too often, but we do eat them all the time!

I keep kosher, too, and I am a vegan. I use soy milk in recipes to make them pareve. I typically use Soy Dream...in something like corn bread, make sure you use original and not vanilla (but I personally think vanilla tastes better w/ cereal and whatnot). Some people think that soy milk has too strong of a taste in baked goods, though, and prefer to use rice milk, which has a lighter flavor.

Just ran across your blog and I have to say that you are an awesome mom! It is so great to see parents who really care about what kids put in their mouths! I am vegan with no children, but totally appreciate the way you are raising your child!! Congrats!

Congratulations! I am a vegetarian pediatric dietitian and your site is inspirational! I hope one day to raise vegetarian (or vegan if I try it again... it is always in the back of my head...) kids one day and I always hoped I would find the right balance between good nutrition and making it interesting and fun for kids.... it looks like you have done that!!

I hope you don't mind if I use some of your ideas for struggling parents of vegetarian kids!!

hi..i have a question for ms. mysterioso..i noticed you said you are a pediatric dietitian..im starting college next fall and im looking into careers in the nutrition/counseling field..im just curious..what did you major in and how much schooling did you go through for your job? thanx!-AP Environmental Girl

>Hey, I just noticed that the Vegan Lunch Box was mentioned as one of the Blogs of Note on Blogger.com.

Yes, and I think it's been quite a dubious honor -- it seems to have brought in a lot of spam and mean comments.

For the record I am a firm believer in free speech but I will immediately delete any comment threatening me or my son with violence because of how he eats. That is hurtful and abusive and I won't accept it.

hey jen, this is a fan. I was looking through your blog and I happened to come across one of your recipes. It was injera and i know this great sauce that goes so great with injera. It's totally vegan and it's made wit onions. If you want to know da recipe, plz visit my blog and post.

Vegan cornbread is so, so easy, and no, it's not crumbly! This is a recipe that someone emailed me a few months ago. I wish I still had the original message so I could give them full credit for it. It has become our favorite cornbread of all time...

Love your site. Great ideas, great photos, fun commentary. I am a lacto-ovo and vegan cookbook writer and just started my own blog.

http://mindycooks.blogspot.com

I love coming up with advice, recipes, tips and sharing them instantly with whoever happens by. Hope you'll visit me. In fact, maybe we can link up! I have no idea how that's done, but would love to learn...

Ah, let's see, I was cooking with the Force this morning...I briefly sauteed some minced garlic in olive oil, then added it to the beans with some dried oregano and thyme and some sea salt. I would have added some cayenne for my husband, but kept it mild for my shmoo.

>My diet (due to being a college student) has not been all that I've wanted it to be and now I fear of suffering from malnutrition. :O)

Hi, Thom! There ought to be a Vegan Dorm Blog or something just for college students, don't you think? Recover from your malnutrition and get one going! :-)

Hi, welcome to the blogger front page! :) These are some great looking meals too! Sorry if I dont quite share the same outlook on food and eating animals (I enjoy eating as many different things as possible, short of human flesh). But it is great! I love healthy food too!

i absolutely love black eyed peas! my parents and i always eat black eyed peas on new years day. i could probably eat cornbread with every single meal ever. maybe i will try to make your recipe; i've never made it myself before.

Congrats! You've made it on the Blogger Homepage as a blog to be noted. I really enjoyed reading your blog and you have some great recipes. I'm not a vegetarian but I do try to have a balance diet. Lots of fruit and veggies, with minimal meat dishes.

Hope all is well and have a great weekend!

Will be coming by again..

PS Love those twinkie recipe! Will have to try that one although I'm not sure if I can find a twinkie bake set...

Hey!!! Blog of Note! Congratulations! I'll definitely be trying some of the ideas you have on this site. I'm glad you made it on the Blogger homepage because this site has some good stuff! Although I enjoy other foods that are not in the Vegan diet, I still enjoy eating healthy and am always looking for some great ideas. Thanks again!

wow, i just came across your website - it's great!!!! myself, i am part of a vegan cooking circle in which we often rotate cooking dinner 4 nights a week... i look forward to exploring your blog further! :)

Jenniferschmoo, I just wanted to say that I'm so glad I found your site! I was raised vegetarian (although I'm not now), so I don't typically eat a lot of meat. I'm always struggling to find ways to get healthy food into my 3 year old, who has never liked meat(or tofu, or beans, or any other meat alternative) and right now wants to subsist on goldfish crackers and juice. Your site is giving me great ideas, thanks!!

Hi, I've just seen your blog and it's astonishing (in a good way)! I'm stil a lacto-vegetarian thinking of veganism. And, although I don't have any kids I definitly think this blog is such an inspiration! By the way, I'm brazilian, living in a town near Sao Paulo.

hey i LOVE ur blog. been reading it for about a month now and im well n truly addicted. I'm not vegan (been veggie at various points in my life-but I didn't feel as well generally wen i was so stoppd) anyway, my student budget doesnt allow me to buy meat now so i mainly live on pasta, courgettes and mushrooms so thank u for giving me sum more meat free ideas. just wish we had more stores round here to buy the stuff u use-ive never even heard of black eyed peas!

Found your page on 'Blogs of Note!' It's brilliant! Do you really get people threatening you and your son because you're vegan? WOW. There's alot of losers around! Hope you don't mind but I've added a link on my blog to your pages!

Good grief Jennifer, I'm so addicted to your blog that I'm even reading all the comments every day. (there have been some good site addresses among the standard praise fare) I chalk it up to well utilized lunch and break time.

To hear that you're getting flack from people regarding your decision to raise a vegan child is dissapointing but typical. It sounds to me like people are getting defensive over their choices to continue promoting a culture of cruelty. (I wonder how many of them are Pro-Life) Regardless.... Get over it and evolve already!!!

Great blog! I'm glad you were made a blog of note - I'm lactose intolerant and vegetarian, so your vegan recipes will be very useful!

I'm adding you to my favourites.

As an aside, when I saw a vegan blog as blog of note I did wonder if you would get hassle from carnivores. From your comment above I see you have, don't be disparaged though - you'll have picked up a lot of new fans too!

Fantastic blog! I'm supposed to be studying right now, but this is so much more interesting.

what did you feed you son when he was one? I have a 16 month old who's not terribly picky, but if I could get more vegetable protein into him, I would feel better about his diet (which is already pretty darned healthy). I haven't tried any of the veggie or soy based "meats" on him yet, though I like a lot of them myself.

Again, great blog - from another non-vegetarian (but slowly thinking I might go that way...)

to become a dietitian you need a science degree in nutrition plus an internship in an accredited institution (usually a hospital). I am canadian but I Think it is the same inthe US.... 4 yrs university and approx 1 year internship!!!

I am so glad your blog was on the front page or I never would have seen it. "Vegan Lunch Box" definately caught my eye! I just spent half my morning reading every entry and I am INSPIRED!! My husband usually gets stuck with the same old thing in his lunches and you have me thinking about a little variety.

Thanks so much- I will definately be visiting again! What a lucky little boy to have a caring mother like you! :)

Hi, I'm a first-time visitor to your blog. I'm not vegan, but I am trying to eat a healthier balanced diet so that's how I came across your page. I actually love the taste of many meat-substitues made of veggies even though I don't have any particular motivation for eating them.

Your blog is amazing! Your kid is lucky. I think I want to go out and buy a lunchbox even though I'm in my 20's. Surely it would be better than tossing food at random into a wal-mart sack. :)

This blog makes me hungry and inspires me to try new things or old things in new ways. Thanks for sharing.

Love your lunches. I'm celiac, so can't have wheat, barley, etc., one family member is diabetic and must eat very low-carb, one is vegetarian but can't eat soy because of what it's done to her thyroid. So I couldn't feed your lunches to my family, but what shines through is the love and care that goes into each one. I can copy that!

Great Blog! It's nice to see people raising vegan shmoos (I was one of them) and blogging about it. Although the restaurant I work in isn't vegan, a lot of us there are. Please check out my blog if you're inclined: restaurantgirlspeaks.blogspot.com

WOW! I just found your site today- fantastic. My hubby and I were just talking about the issues with the mad cow/bird flu/etc problems, and whether or not we could go meatless. This is just phenomenal. I printed the petakids snack guide, thanks!

Hi, Mac_Davis! Vegan Outreach can answer your question much better than I can. Check out their "Why Vegan" page for a great explanation:Heh, I'm not asking why I should eat vegan, I'm asking why YOU and... schmoo eat vegan. Is it your husband and/or son?

I came across your blog from a random Dashboard link. What a wonderful gift you are giving Shmoo in the form of healthful eating habits at an early age. He'll grow up knowing you can be creative as well as healthy in how you present and prepare food — and he'll probably live to be 110! I also dig the concept of the blog — a confident, tight focus and richly illustrated.

Last, by pure coincidence, you share the same full name as a friend of mine! Too funny.

I really like black eyed peas in a no-cook bean salad I like to make - soon to be added to my blog under the Food section. I combine black-eyed peas, chickpeas, kidney beans, chopped tomatoes, chopped onion and seasonings. It is SO good.

Jennifer, wonderful Blog! I discovered your site from govegan.net forum. and now come here everyday to check out your lunch ideas! You inspried my dinner last night. I wanted to make your cornbread recipe so I made TVP Chili to go along with it. My chili is always smkoing hot so the super sweet flavor of the cornbread went well with it. I have to comment on the maple syrup amount though. I think 1/2 cup maple instead of 2/3 cup would be better for most peoples tastes. My hubby loves it though so be sure to add it to your cookbook. Maybe call it "sweet maple cornbread". :0) Valerie

Thanks a lot for a bunch of good tips. I look forward to reading more on the topic in the future. Keep up the good work! This blog is going to be great resource. Love reading it. ................................academic term papers-essay writing help